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Mission Focused Groups
Here at Stonnington we have been working at identifying and nurturing mission focused groups. Although we are starting small, with a few people with ideas, we hope and pray that through God's grace they may develop into outward focused mid-sized groups that make a difference in the world and include mature Christians, new Christians and those who are beginning a spiritual journey.
We are not the first to go on this journey and so there are people we can learn from. I have just started reading a book called 'Breakout' which is the story of one church's journey. Here is a review. I will probably post some of my own reflections over the next few weeks.
Another book that I have is 'Clusters' by Mike Breen and Bob Hopkins and it draws largely on the experience at St Thomas's in Sheffield. They talk about the 'Sunday Service trap':
I would argue that one of the disabling effects of Christendom upon the Church is that we have equated church and particularly the congregational expression with a formal Sunday Service that is actually modelled on Mini-cathedral or the biblical temple. I describe this distortion of the mid-size gathering of God’s people as the defective gene disabling us for missions. So, we outline what we believe are biblical social dynamics of a mid-sized congregation or cluster which follows the pattern Paul gives us in Corinthians chapter 11-14 in beings informal, interacting, usually built around food and which is the sum of what everyone brings rather than a front- led presentation. Clusters can enable us to escape this ‘Sunday service trap’.
If you want to do some more reading about mid-sized mission focused groups, here is a pdf article.
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David Wanstall, 7/22/2009 |
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| | | (Guest) | 07/28/2009 11:27 | Who knew that following the Lord could be so complicated? We don’t just follow and listen to His voice and do as He says. No... we have to have circles, squares and triangles. Up-facing and now side-facing triangles. Oh joy! Lets combine triangles and we can have a hexagram.
Jesus funnily enough never mentioned life shapes. Nor did Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Enoch, Moses, Paul, Peter etc etc. Why don’t we come up with an extra-biblical concept and run with it! Jesus only did that which the Father gave Him to do and only said that which He was given to speak. He lived the perfect life. We however are tossed to and fro and follow whatever seems right...
We were told to “tarry in Jerusalem” until two things happened, but the church isn’t interested in obedience. They only advocate obedience for things they want to be obedient too.... A prime example of what happens when we do as the Lord instructed occurred in Acts with Philip and the the Eunuch. He followed the Lords instructions to the letter- he wasn’t doing “what seems right in his own eyes”. He wasn’t reaching out to random strangers. He was so consumed and permeated by the Spirit he was directed to and transported from the Lord’s appointed destination for Him. He had more than a directive from the Lord. He had Christ’s resurrection power flowing through Him. It wasn’t a bible tract and an invitation to a church lunch on offer. There was the real presence and life changing power of the Spirit.
The Lord knows who He will save and only He has the power to save them. Why can’t we trust in Him to do the work and be obedient to the directions He will give us.. We talk about “rest” but then we come up with 50000 concepts about how we can better “work”. And what can we take to all the people we reach? We can’t possibly offer anything other than what we have. Are we going to travel a great distance to make a someone twice the son of hell we are? How can we introduce people to Jesus when we don’t actually know Him ourselves? Are we going to introduce them to triangles and squares? Our concept of God from the pulpit or true real encounters with God? Face to face encounters? Or a god that doesn’t actually speak or heal? No, not a picture or a thought but real speaking. No, not a “i feel a bit better, I no longer use my wheelchair”.... but I still limp. God actually does speak. God can actually raise the dead and put on severed limbs. If all we have to offer them is a concept rather than a reality we have no place running around “evangelizing”. Doing so is in direct disobedience to scripture. The commandment to spread the good news is conditional on us having tarried in Jerusalem. Only when we personally have been truly baptized and embued with power and only when He sends us out personally are we to go. We are called to a life wholly and completely consecrated to God. If Jesus was totally dependent on the Father how can we possibly do anything else?
We need a real encounter and to be fully transformed and in love with our Creator. It is Christ we serve not the mandate to preach. It is Christ we should love first and foremost. We were created for a relationship with Him first.
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